Toby Alderweireld

Toby Alderweireld

Alderweireld with Ajax in 2011
Personal information
Full name	Tobias Albertine Maurits Alderweireld[1]
Date of birth	2 March 1989
Place of birth	Antwerp, Belgium
Height	1.87 m (6 ft 2 in)[2]
Playing position	Defender
Club information
Current team	Tottenham Hotspur
Number	4
Youth career
1999–2004	Germinal Beerschot
2004–2008	Ajax
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps^†	(Gls)^†
2008–2013	Ajax	128	(7)
2013–2015	Atlético Madrid	12	(1)
2014–2015	→ Southampton (loan)	26	(1)
2015–	Tottenham Hotspur	36	(4)
National team^‡
2004	Belgium U15	3	(1)
2004	Belgium U16	2	(0)
2005–2006	Belgium U17	17	(3)
2006	Belgium U18	3	(0)
2006–2007	Belgium U19	9	(0)
2009–2010	Belgium U21	5	(0)
2009–	Belgium	52	(1)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 2 May 2016. † Appearances (goals) ‡ National team caps and goals correct as of 21:47 13 November 2015

Tobias Albertine Maurits "Toby" Alderweireld (Dutch pronunciation: [ˈtoːbi ˈɑldərˌwɛːrəlt]; born 2 March 1989) is a Belgian professional footballer who plays for Tottenham Hotspur and the Belgium national team. Mainly a central defender, he can also play as a right back.

Alderweireld began his professional career at Dutch club Ajax, where he won honours including three consecutive Eredivisie titles. In 2013 he moved to Atlético, where he won La Liga and reached the UEFA Champions League final in his first season.

A full international since 2009, he has earned over 50 caps for Belgium and represented the country at the 2014 FIFA World Cup.

Club career

Ajax

Born in Antwerp,^[3] Alderweireld moved to Ajax's youth academy in August 2004 from Germinal Beerschot. On 22 February 2007, he signed his first professional contract tying him to the club until 30 June 2010.^[4] He was promoted to the first team for the 2008–09 season but only made his first team debut on 18 January, in the 4–2 victory over NEC Nijmegen.^[5] On 26 February, he made his European debut during a 1–1 draw against Fiorentina in the UEFA Cup.^[6] Although he only made several appearances for the remainder of the season, he was awarded a new long-term contract extension until 2014.^[7]

During the early stages of the 2009–10 season, Alderweireld established himself in the first team and starting eleven. He became first choice centre-back along with fellow Belgian Jan Vertonghen after the departure of former captain Thomas Vermaelen to Arsenal.^[8] New coach Martin Jol praised the two defenders and kept faith in the duo after a string of good performances.^[9][10] During the 4 September win against Heracles that ended 3–0, he scored his first league goal for the club when he opened the scoring with a header from Luis Suárez's corner.^[11] On 27 January, he scored a late equaliser in extra time during the KNVB Cup quarter final against NEC Nijmegen and Siem de Jong's late goal five minutes before the final whistle sealed a 3–2 win for Ajax. At the end of the 2009–10 season, Alderweireld was named "Ajax Talent of the Year".^[12] He assured himself of a place in the Eredivisie giants' history books on 3 November 2011, heading in Ajax's 100th UEFA Champions League goal in the 2–1 Group G defeat by Auxerre.^[13] In the 2010–11 season, he scored a stunning 25-yard strike at the San Siro against Champions League group rivals AC Milan in a 2–0 away win. He followed this spectacular goal with an even more impressive 32-yard strike against Feyenoord in a 2–0 home win.

Alderweireld with Ajax teammates in 2011.

In the 2011–12 season Alderweireld made significant strides in his ability as a footballer. He also formed a formidable partnership in the heart of the Ajax defensive with captain and fellow Belgian Jan Verthongen. Alderweireld also showed some impressive offensive ability scoring a remarkable goal against SC Heerenveen.

On 5 August 2012, during the Johan Cruijff Schaal encounter between PSV and Ajax, Alderweireld managed to score for Ajax in the 44th minute, bringing his club back within a goals difference going into halftime 2–1. Unfortunately, it was a match Ajax would lose 4–2, making it the third Dutch Super Cup that Alderweireld participated in and finished as runners-up. The following 2012–13 season however would be a successful one, marking the third year in a row that Alderweireld would play UEFA Champions League football, and also winning his third consecutive Eredivisie title for Ajax and 32nd overall, having played as a starting centre-back for Ajax in all three championship pursuits. Alderweireld scored a further three goals that season for Ajax, including two goals during the regular season against PEC Zwolle and FC Twente, as well as scoring another goal in a 2–0 home victory against Steaua București at the Amsterdam Arena, in the first leg of the Round of 32 in the 2012–13 UEFA Europa League. Having been drawn into a group with Manchester City, Real Madrid and eventual runners-up Borussia Dortmund during their Champions League campaign, Ajax had entered into the Europa League at the knockout phase having secured third place in their group, but failed to advance, losing in the second leg match in Romania 4–2 on penalty kicks after extra time.

With one more year remaining on his contract, Alderweireld opted not to extend his contract with Ajax, and received plenty of interest during the off season, with Bayer Leverkusen, Liverpool, Napoli and Norwich City being mentioned as the most keen to sign the young defender.^[14][15]

Atlético Madrid

On 2 September 2013, Alderweireld joined Atlético Madrid on a four-year contract for an estimated €7 million (£6.16 m) transfer fee.^[16][17] He played 12 matches as the club won La Liga; on 11 May, he headed his only goal of the season, an equaliser in a 1–1 home draw with Málaga CF in the penultimate round of fixtures, ensuring that Atlético remained in the title race.^[18] Alderweireld played the final seven minutes and extra time of the 2014 UEFA Champions League Final for Atlético in place of Filipe Luís; the team were beating rivals Real Madrid 1–0 when he entered the field of play but eventually lost 1–4.^[19]

Southampton (loan)

He was loaned to Southampton, on 1 September 2014 with the option for Southampton to buy at the end of the season.^[20][21] He made his Southampton debut on 13 September, helping to keep a clean sheet in a 4–0 defeat of Newcastle United.^[22] On 26 December, he scored his first goal for the club, Southampton's third in a 3–1 away win at Crystal Palace by heading James Ward-Prowse's corner kick.^[23]

Southampton had a £6.8 million option to buy Alderweireld, but in July 2015 Atletico cancelled the clause for £1.5 million in order to sell to the highest bidder.^[24] Subsequent reports claimed that Atletico failed to exercise their buy-out in time.^[25]

Tottenham Hotspur

On 8 July 2015, Alderweireld joined Tottenham Hotspur on a five-year contract which runs until summer of 2020 at White Hart Lane despite Southampton threatening legal action over the transfer.^[26] The transfer fee is estimated to be £11.5 million.^[27] He was reunited with former Ajax teammates Christian Eriksen and Jan Vertonghen, who previously joined the north London side from Ajax.

On 30 July, Alderweireld made his club debut in the 2015 MLS All-Star Game in Denver, Colorado. During a 2–1 defeat, Alderweireld started the game and was replaced by Federico Fazio after 62 minutes.^[28]

On 26 September, Alderweireld scored his first goal for Tottenham in a 4–1 win over Manchester City at White Hart Lane.^[29] His second goal for the club came in another 4–1 victory over London rivals West Ham United on 22 November.^[30]

On 5 March 2016, in the 183rd North London Derby, Alderweireld scored for Tottenham in a 2–2 draw against Arsenal.^[31] A month later, he was Spurs' second scorer in a 3–0 defeat of Manchester United.^[32]

During his first season at Tottenham, Alderweireld has been recognised by commentators as one of the best defenders in the Premier League,^[33][34][35] forming impressive central defensive partnerships with national team colleague Jan Vertonghen,^[36][37][38] and later the Austrian Kevin Wimmer.^[39] This form has helped Tottenham to achieve the best defensive record in the Premier League, with only 25 goals conceded from 34 games.^[40]

International career

Alderweireld playing at the 2014 World Cup against Algeria

Alderweireld first represented Belgium at U17 level in October 2005 and took part in the 2006 UEFA U17 Championship. After the 2008–09 season concluded, he made his senior debut for the Belgian national team in a friendly tournament. However his full senior debut came three months later, in a match against the Czech Republic. He was named in several 2010 World Cup qualifying squads, but was mostly an unused substitute. In October 2009, he came on as a second-half substitute for Daniel Van Buyten in the 2–0 defeat to Estonia.

Alderweireld was called up to the Belgian U21 squad for the 2011 UEFA U21 Championship qualifier against Ukraine on 13 November 2009, with the match finishing 2–0 to Ukraine. He played right back during the 2012 UEFA Euro qualification match against Turkey on 7 September 2010.

On 13 May 2014, Alderweireld was named in the squad to go to the 2014 FIFA World Cup.^[41] He started in all 5 games of Belgium's tournament run, including their 1–0 defeat against Argentina in the quarter finals.^[42]

Career statistics

Club

Statistics accurate as of last match played on 2 May 2016.^[43]

Club performance			League		Cup		Continental		Other		Total
Season	Club	League	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals
Netherlands			League		KNVB Cup		Europe^1		Other^2		Total
2008–09	Ajax	Eredivisie	5	0	0	0	3	0	0	0	8	0
2009–10			31	2	6	1	8	0	0	0	45	3
2010–11			26	2	4	0	12	3	1	0	43	5
2011–12			29	1	3	0	7	1	1	1	40	3
2012–13			33	2	3	0	8	1	1	1	45	4
2013–14			4	0	0	0	0	0	1	0	5	0
Total	Netherlands		128	7	16	1	38	5	4	2	186	15
Spain			League		Copa del Rey		Europe		Other^3		Total
2013–14	Atlético Madrid	La Liga	12	1	6	1	4	0	0	0	22	2
Total	Spain		12	1	6	1	4	0	0	0	22	2
England			League		FA Cup		Europe		Other		Total
2014–15	Southampton (loan)	Premier League	26	1	2	0	0	0	0	0	28	1
2015–16	Tottenham Hotspur	Premier League	36	4	1	0	10	0	0	0	47	4
Total	England		62	5	3	0	10	0	0	0	75	5
Career total			202	13	25	2	52	5	4	2	283	22

¹ Includes UEFA Champions League and UEFA Europa League matches.

² Includes the Johan Cruijff Shield and Eredivisie playoffs matches.

³ Includes the Supercopa de España matches.

International

As of matches played on 12 June 2015^[44]

Belgium national team
Year	Apps	Goals
2009	4	0
2010	6	0
2011	5	0
2012	5	0
2013	11	1
2014	12	0
2015	4	0
Total	47	1

Honours

Club

Ajax^[45]

• Eredivisie: 2010–11, 2011–12, 2012–13
• KNVB Cup: 2009–10
• Johan Cruijff Shield: 2013

Atlético Madrid^[45]

• La Liga: 2013–14
• UEFA Champions League: runners-up: 2013–14

Individual

• AFC Ajax Talent of the Year: 2010^[45]
• Premier League PFA Team of the Year: 2015–16^[46]

References

1. "England 1 Belgium 0 [1–0]". England Football Online. Retrieved 17 December 2013.
2. "Player Profile: Toby Alderweireld". Atlético Madrid. Retrieved 22 August 2013.
3. Toby Alderweireld profile, VI.nl, 18 January 2009, retrieved 19 January 2009
4. Ajax sign Toby Alderweireld, AFC Ajax, 22 February 2007, retrieved 19 January 2009
5. Ajax win spectacular match, AFC Ajax, 18 January 2009, retrieved 19 January 2009
6. Leonardo scores to help Ajax advance
7. "Alderweireld langer bij Ajax" (in Dutch). De Telegraaf. 22 June 2009. Retrieved 10 October 2009.
8. Zwartkruis, Simon (30 September 2009). "'Wij hebben de beste selctie van Nederland'". Association football.
9. "Jol: 'Vertonghen en Alderweireld, dat ziet iedereen'" (in Dutch). Gazet van Antwerpen. 17 October 2009. Retrieved 27 October 2009.
10. Coerts, Stefan (13 October 2009), "Ajax Coach Martin Jol Praises Jan Vertonghen And Toby Alderweireld", Goal, retrieved 30 September 2009
11. Report: SC Heracles Almelo vs Ajax Amsterdam
12. "Supporters Ajax eren Suarez". Telegraaf.nl. 18 April 2010. Retrieved 21 April 2010.
13. "Ajax's Alderweireld thrives on art of defending". UEFA.com by Berend Scholten. 5 February 2011. Retrieved 5 February 2011.
14. "Alderweireld soll kommen Kadlec wechselt zu Fenerbahce". Express.de by Lars Werner.com. 14 June 2013. Retrieved 19 June 2013.
15. "Napoli wil tien miljoen euro betalen voor Toby Alderweireld". Nieuws.be by Voetbal4U.com. 18 June 2013. Archived from the original on 24 October 2014. Retrieved 19 June 2013.
16. "Transfer deadline day: Atletico Madrid sign Toby Alderweireld and Josuha Guilavogui". Sky Sports. 2 September 2013. Retrieved 31 August 2014.
17. Corrigan, Dermot (3 September 2013). "Toby Alderweireld rejected Liverpool". ESPN FC. Retrieved 31 August 2014.
18. "Atlético Madrid 1–1 Málaga". BBC Sport. 11 May 2014. Retrieved 1 September 2014.
19. "Real Madrid 4 Atlético Madrid 1". BBC Sport. Retrieved 25 May 2014.
20. "Agreement with Southampton for the loan of Alderweireld". Atlético Madrid. 2 September 2014. Retrieved 12 September 2014.
21. "Southampton loan Toby Alderweireld from Atletico Madrid". BBC Sport. 2 September 2014. Retrieved 2 September 2014.
22. "Striker Graziano Pelle scored twice as Southampton overwhelmed a poor Newcastle side at St Mary's Stadium.". BBC Sport. 12 September 2014. Retrieved 14 September 2014.
23. Emons, Michael (26 December 2014). "Crystal Palace 1–3 Southampton". BBC Sport. Retrieved 26 December 2014.
24. "Tottenham agree £11.5m fee with Atletico Madrid for defender Toby Alderweireld". Mail online. 5 July 2015. Retrieved 5 July 2015.
25. Smith, Alan (5 July 2015). "Southampton ponder legal action if Toby Alderweireld joins Tottenham". The Guardian. Retrieved 6 July 2015.
26. "Toby Alderweireld: Tottenham sign Atletico Madrid defender". BBC Sport. 8 July 2015. Retrieved 9 July 2015.
27. "Toby Alderweireld signs for Tottenham for £11.5m on five-year deal". Daily Mail. 8 July 2015.
28. Borg, Simon (30 July 2015). "MLS All-Stars 2, Tottenham Hotspur 1". MLS Soccer. Retrieved 21 October 2015.
29. "Tottenham 4–1 Man City". BBC. 26 September 2015.
30. "Tottenham Hotspur 4-1 West Ham United". BBC. 22 November 2015.
31. "Tottenham Hotspur 2-2 Arsenal". BBC. 5 March 2016.
32. "Tottenham Hotspur 3-0 Manchester United". BBC. 10 April 2016.
33. "Tottenham centre back Toby Alderweireld is the best defender in the Premier League, claims former Spurs boss Tim Sherwood". The Daily Mail. 15 February 2016.
34. "Who has been the Premier League's best defender so far this season?". BSkyB. 15 January 2016.
35. "Charlie Nicholas believes Tottenham's Toby Alderweireld is the most consistent defender in Premier League". Here is the City. Retrieved 12 April 2016.
36. "Toby Alderweireld hails partnership with Spurs centre-back partner Jan Vertonghen". BSkyB. 30 October 2015.
37. "Phil Thompson raves about Toby Alderweireld and Jan Vertonghen partnership at Tottenham Hotspur". Here is the City. Retrieved 12 April 2016.
38. "Tottenham's Jan Vertonghen set for spell on sidelines with knee injury". BSkyB. 26 January 2016.
39. "5 Talking Points: Tottenham Hotspur v Manchester United". SBS. 9 April 2016.
40. "Tottenham and Manchester United's stingy defences a stark contrast". ESPN. 8 April 2016.
41. "Adnan Januzaj included in Belgium's World Cup squad". BBC Sport. 13 May 2014. Retrieved 15 May 2014.
42. Chowdhury, Saj (17 June 2014). "Belgium 2–1 Algeria". BBC Sport. Retrieved 17 June 2014.
43. "Alderweireld's profile in the Football-Database website "Soccerway"". soccerway.com. 24 June 2014. Retrieved 24 June 2014.
44. Toby Alderweireld at National-Football-Teams.com
45. "Alderweireld's Palmarés on the Atletico's official website page". clubatleticodemadrid.com. 24 June 2014. Retrieved 24 June 2014.
46. Whaling, James (21 Apr 2016). "PFA reveal Premier League Team of the Year ahead of Sunday's awards after online leak". Daily Mirror. Retrieved 21 Apr 2016.

External links

• Toby Alderweireld career statistics at Soccerbase
• Belgium Stats at Belgian FA